Could slinging at home be a form of lazy parenting?: - Page 2

[_betsy_]

DD, now 13 mo, HATES the vacuum. Unless she's in the sling. No idea why, but I literally can't vacuum without her in the sling - she goes nuts. Screaming, crying, samping feet - no thanks! Not good for her or for me! Into the sling she goes. In fact, anytime I need to keep her close by and not have my full attention on her, she goes in the sling. As long as she'll let me, I intend to keep doing it. She's incredibly active, I think she likes the time to recharge, cuddle and hang out with me.

[UmmIbrahim]

Considering its what women and other caretakers have done w/ their children since time immortal...how could it be lazy? Its the original method of taking care of a child while getting done what you need to get done!
Its done in almost every society around the world in some form or another...

If it works...it works...obviously it works if humans have been using fabric, woven plant fibers or hides to carry their kids in...forever...why stop now!

[midwestmeg]

This is such a cute thread!

Love the 'lazy' parenting... teehee! I have a 10 mo old and I don't care if he wants to be down on the floor eating dust bunnies; I'm getting my cuddle time in while I can! Babyhood goes so quickly.

[wahoowhippets]

Originally Posted by lyttlewon

Did I miss the requirement that parenting was supposed to be hard work 24/7 until you learn to hate it? That is the point of a sling...so you can live.

:

I think you are doing great! Whatever works best for YOU is just what you need to be doing. Who care what anyone else thinks, right? I have three kids and sometimes I *have* to wear the baby just to be able to take care of what the other two need without all hell breaking loose! As long as baby seems content, why not?

[gardenmommy]

Originally Posted by mamameg

Could be lazy parenting... and I'm all for it!

Co-sleeping - easier for me!
Breastfeeding - easier for me!
Babywearing - easier for me!

I'm allllllll about the lazy parenting! I'm just lucky enough that my lazy parenting is also better for my kids than the not-so-lazy alternatives.

Keep up the good work!

Me too.

[MamaTT]

Don't sweat it. Seriously. I have three kids, two jobs, and I'm homeschooling. DD is constantly in the sling. I barely do "tummy time" three times a week.

She does nap on her own sometimes, but otherwise, she is worn.

[Evansmama]

Originally Posted by mamameg

Could be lazy parenting... and I'm all for it!

Co-sleeping - easier for me!
Breastfeeding - easier for me!
Babywearing - easier for me!

I'm allllllll about the lazy parenting! I'm just lucky enough that my lazy parenting is also better for my kids than the not-so-lazy alternatives.

Keep up the good work!

:

[laohaire]

To me, lazy is avoiding the things you need to do, or doing a bad job of it, because you don't feel like making the effort.

Doing things the easy way is a much larger category that includes doing things sensibly as well as being lazy. But just because a thing is easy doesn't make it lazy.

To me, slinging a child is sensible. It's not copping out.

Lazy parenting to me is sticking a child in a playpen all day while you watch soap operas, and not bothering to get up when they cry. (Not bashing playpens OR soap operas but the lazy use of both!).

I was in Tanzania a few years back, and saw women carrying backbreaking amounts of water and hoeing fields and other things. They carried their babies in a kanga on their backs. Lazy? I think not. Vacuuming might be a little less intensive than the labor I just described, but it's still work, and women (and men) gotta do what they gotta do.

Is your baby happy in the sling? Are you stuffing a crying baby into a sling because it's easy and you can't be bothered to do something else? I doubt it!

[MaryLang]

I haven't read everyones response, but this made me lol . I always used to tell people "I'm only doing this because I'm lazy!", when slinging my babes.

[hottmama]

I don't think it's lazy-- lazy would be plopping the baby in a crib or playpen and turning the music up so you don't have to hear them cry. But I do think it's important for babies to explore their world once they're mobile.
My littlest guy started crawling and cruising at 5.5 mos. : so I had to babyproof in a hurry, but a week later, he had free roam of the house, minus the bathrooms (he had a thing for splashing in toilets). We had a few minor problems with that (like when he climbed up on the dining room table and ate a few handfuls of chili, despite our plans to wait until 6 mos. before giving him any solids ), but mostly he was fine. He ate a bit of paper, he occasionally bit the cat, but he's a happy, active toddler now so I assume it didn't cause any real damage. When he started walking at 8.5 mos, that's when we started having real issues (like when he ran off and hid in a Gap fitting room at 9 mos. old!) Crawling babies are good practice for walking and running.
When my oldest started crawling, I only had him and I didn't really have anything else to do other than play with him and chase each other around on all fours. I never slung him at home.

[VanessaS]

Mine chews shoes too! (try to say that three times fast...)
She really likes my Birkenstocks now that she's teething. I figure it's good for her immune system. Neither of my kids ever get sick. I just make sure to keep the chokable stuff off the floor.

I'm a lazy mama, too. Isn't it great?

I babywear sometimes at home to keep the baby in safety when my oldest is in one of his hitting moods (although that's FINALLY going away). Especially when I'm going to be distracted by housework or cooking. She loves it. Remember, they only get to see the world from "up high" when you carry them so it's a novel experience.

I started co-sleeping recently simply because my DD is teething and the constant feedings at night were taking a toll. The last couple of weeks I just couldn't be bothered to put her back in her crib. What's the point if she's just going to wake up in 2 hours again? And it's soooo fun. But now I have the problem that I don't sleep because I like watching her sleep so much.

And we started solids at 5.5 mo but she didn't seem so interested and I couldn't be bothered. So, we decided to go back to EBF and wait for finger foods.

[Electra375]

Well, with more children the better a sling becomes, I'm really loving back carrying in a Kozy or Patapum. But other things have also come in quite handy... I can't keep my floors spotless and he gets into a lot of little pieces of hair, trash, food crumbs, stuff tracked in from outside. He can not have gluten, yet my 3yr old can into the living room w a cookie 2 days ago. Now he can't be on the floor until I scrub it. He loves to crawl around, play on his tummy, sit and play, etc and to keep him safe from the other things in the house I can't get to everyday, I will use a play pen. : (we're not talking all day here, 35 mintues while I cook dinner, 3 min while I get the olders out to the bus, etc)

Even in AP there can be a place for a Johnny Jumper, a swing, an exersaucer, a play pen, the key is that these things are not a replacement for mama time and interaction or a "babysitter", they are tools to allow children to explore their world safely when it might not always be so safe.

BTW - I use the Johnny Jumper while I clean the kitchen or cook, he can see me and we can talk.

I'm not as young as I used to be and all day babywearing wears me out!!! I'm so old...

[gardenmommy]

see, that is my view, also. I think there is a place for all those things. Slings, imo, are a tool. I use them to help me be a better parent. Sometimes, the baby needs to be held, but everyone else needs to eat, so something that lets me wear him and tend to other people's needs is a good thing. Sometimes lazy parenting is good parenting.

[rumi]

I distinctly remember telling his grandma that I didn't want a swing nor would I turn on the t.v. b/c it wasn't right to let those things babysit him. Now, I feel like I might be letting the sling babysit my dd.

Interesting thing about the sling is that it serves both purposes - it ptovides some amount of "swing" and steady entertainment. But it AINT AN IDIOT BOX. hee hee

[motherofphilosophy]

Originally Posted by Phantaja

I remember when my step boys were very young, both in diapers and bottles, and people telling me that if I'm not having a hard time then I must not be doing it right. Why can't a system that works be both easy and beneficial?

LOL...Parenting should be soul-draining and restrictive....you aren't doing it right otherwise....

Its amazing what people see as good v. bad parenting. I kept being told ffing would be easier - exactly how? Or DS should be cio to "learn" how to sleep w/o me...Its not lazy to sling...it gives baby a chance to calm down too...

[Quirky]

Not that I've actually read the book The Continuum Concept, but the philosophy that I have read about described in this book is that families shouldn't necessarily be child-centered but family-/community-centered. To my mind it makes a lot of sense that my job as a parent isn't to dote on my child every second of the day, and do nothing but play on the floor with her or whatever -- it's to take care of her, the rest of the family, my work, and myself, and to integrate her into the family. Babywearing is one tool that allows me to do that and help me care for my baby without making her the absolute center of the universe at every moment. It's not "lazy" to do some of the things that need to get done with my baby attached to me -- whether it's helping a client, doing some laundry, helping my son with his Lego project, or reading a book to my daughter. Or even kicking back myself and taking a little mommy sanity break! :